On a small road located near the Provo airport you would be surprised to find a cruise, but that is exactly what you will find! Located on the same property as Clas Ropes Course, the Allen family hosts a Halloween river cruise.
Owner, Benjamin Allen, said, “We bought this land 25 years ago. We started the Halloween cruise 18 years ago, because we wanted an activity that would be great for families.”
He said at first, he and his wife made a Halloween spook ally, but the spooky spirit of that activity never sat well with his wife; so she suggested a Halloween train ride through forest on their three acre property instead. One night, Benjamin woke up and thought, “Why not use the Provo River that runs through our property?”
So, for their Christmas activity that same year, in December, they gave the river cruise idea a shot, and it was a huge success. At first, they powered the old pontoon boat they bought to float the river with bicycle pedals. Benjamin said after a while, he again thought there has to be a better way to get this boat up and down the river without being drenched in sweat by the end of every ride. He then had the idea to pull the boat by string. Since this idea, he has strung lights and a thick rope over the river to move the boat using your arms. The captain is the one who maneuvers the boat.
“There’s over 100 jack-o’-lanterns lit up along the river. The captain tells a scary story, and a pirate attacks the ship then hands out candy; so it’s fun for all ages.” Benjamin continued, “We have youth groups that come carve, we have young men and women activities, and a BYU family home evening group that’s coming here in a few days, and then we have some of our staff members carve. The pumpkins only last for about a week so we go through two or three hundred pumpkins every year. The farmers love it!”
Not only is this Halloween boat cruise a great experience for families, it is run by a family. This cruise runs every day through the month of October and opens up again in December for a cruise with Santa.
If you want to be a part of this festive activity visit clasropes.com. Tickets are eight dollars and can be bought on site.
